CRM CRM Integrations Study Guide What is CRM? CRM stands for: Customer Relationship Management A CRM stores customer information and interaction history. Common CRMs: Salesforce Zendesk ServiceNow HubSpot Microsoft Dynamics Why CRM Integrations Matter CRM integrations allow platforms like Glia to share customer data with business systems. Example: Glia ↔ CRM ↔ Banking System This helps agents see: customer profile account details previous interactions open tickets case history Common CRM Integration Use Cases Use Case Description Customer lookup Find customer details when interaction starts Screen pop Automatically open customer record for agent Ticket creation Create case after chat/call Interaction logging Save chat/call history in CRM Status updates Update ticket or customer journey status Routing logic Route customer based on CRM data Authentication context Use logged-in user info to identify customer Basic CRM Integration Flow Customer starts chat ↓ Glia receives customer ID ↓ Glia calls CRM API ↓ CRM returns customer data ↓ Agent sees customer profile Example CRM API Request GET /api/customers/12345 Authorization: Bearer token Content-Type: application/json Purpose: Retrieve customer profile from CRM. Example CRM API Response { "customerId": "12345", "name": "Cesar Gonzalez", "status": "premium", "openCases": 2 } Common Integration Patterns Pattern Description API integration Systems exchange data using REST APIs Webhooks CRM receives event notifications Embedded widget Glia embedded inside CRM Screen pop Customer record opens automatically Data sync Customer data synchronized between systems SSO Users authenticate once across systems CRM Integration With Webhooks Example: Chat completed ↓ Webhook sent to CRM ↓ CRM creates case summary Webhook payload: { "event": "chat_completed", "customerId": "12345", "agent": "agent01", "summary": "Customer asked about loan status" } CRM Integration With Screen Pop Screen pop means: automatically opening the customer record for the agent Example: Incoming interaction → CRM opens customer profile This improves: agent speed personalization customer experience CRM Integration With Routing CRM data can influence routing. Example: Customer status = VIP ↓ Route to priority queue Other routing examples: language account type product region open case severity Common CRM Integration Problems Problem Likely Cause Customer not found Wrong customer ID or CRM record missing Screen pop not working Bad URL mapping or missing customer field Ticket not created API failure, bad payload, permissions issue Data not syncing Webhook failure or field mapping issue 401 Unauthorized Invalid or expired token 403 Forbidden Missing CRM permissions 400 Bad Request Invalid JSON or missing required fields Slow response CRM latency or network issue CRM Integration Troubleshooting Flow Step 1 — Understand the Expected Flow Ask: What should happen? What actually happened? Where does the flow fail? Example: Expected: Chat ends → CRM ticket created Actual: Chat ends → No ticket appears Step 2 — Identify the Integration Type Check whether the issue involves: REST API webhook SSO screen pop embedded widget data sync Step 3 — Check Authentication Validate: OAuth token bearer token API key permissions scopes Common errors: 401 = authentication problem 403 = permission problem Step 4 — Validate API Request Check: endpoint URL HTTP method headers JSON payload required fields Example: POST /api/cases Authorization: Bearer token Content-Type: application/json Step 5 — Validate Field Mapping Field mapping means matching data between systems. Example: Glia Field CRM Field customerId Contact ID email Email interactionId Case Reference agentName Owner transcript Case Notes Common issue: Glia sends customerId, but CRM expects contactId Step 6 — Review Logs Check: API logs webhook delivery logs CRM logs timestamps request IDs correlation IDs Step 7 — Validate Network Check: DNS firewall proxy HTTPS/TLS allowlists rate limits Step 8 — Test With Known Good Data Use a test customer record. Example: Customer ID 12345 exists in CRM Then validate: lookup works screen pop works ticket creation works Step 9 — Escalate With Evidence Before escalating, collect: timestamps request/response examples HTTP response codes screenshots affected users correlation IDs Common Troubleshooting Scenarios Scenario 1 — CRM Customer Lookup Fails Possible causes: wrong customer ID missing record incorrect endpoint expired token Troubleshooting: verify customer exists in CRM test API call manually check 401/403/404 errors validate field mapping Scenario 2 — Ticket Creation Fails Possible causes: missing required fields invalid JSON insufficient permissions CRM API outage Troubleshooting: validate JSON payload check required fields review API response confirm CRM service status Scenario 3 — Screen Pop Not Opening Possible causes: browser pop-up blocked bad URL template missing customer identifier CRM permissions issue Troubleshooting: validate URL format confirm customer ID is passed test manually in browser check agent permissions Scenario 4 — Webhook Not Updating CRM Possible causes: webhook URL incorrect endpoint unavailable authentication failure TLS certificate issue Troubleshooting: validate webhook delivery logs check endpoint availability verify HTTPS/TLS inspect response codes Scenario 5 — Slow CRM Response Possible causes: CRM latency network delay rate limiting overloaded integration middleware Troubleshooting: check API response time review rate limits validate middleware health compare with other requests Good Interview Answer “How would you troubleshoot a CRM integration issue?” “I would first confirm the expected workflow and identify where the failure occurs, whether it is API, webhook, SSO, screen pop, or data sync related. Then I would validate authentication, request payloads, field mapping, response codes, logs, network connectivity, and test with known good records before escalating with clear evidence.” Key Terms To Know Term Meaning CRM Customer relationship management system Screen pop Auto-open customer record Field mapping Matching fields between systems API integration Systems exchanging data through APIs Webhook Event notification to another system SSO Single sign-on Data sync Keeping systems updated Correlation ID Tracking ID for troubleshooting Rate limit Maximum allowed API calls Middleware System between two applications Easy Memory Trick CRM integration = customer context + automation It helps agents know: Who is the customer? What happened before? What should happen next?